Department of Justice

Albuquerque Man Arrested on Federal Carjacking and Firearm Charges Following High Speed Chase

ALBUQUERQUE – Donovan Young, 21, of Albuquerque, N.M, made his initial appearance this morning in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with carjacking and firearms offenses. Young remains in federal custody pending preliminary and detention hearings scheduled for tomorrow.

Officers of the Albuquerque Police Department and deputies of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Young on state charges on Nov. 2, 2018. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Young on Nov. 5, 2018, on the federal criminal complaint, which charges him with carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Young and another man (who has not been apprehended) robbed the carjacking victim in the parking lot of a supermarket on Nov. 2, 2018. Young allegedly took the victim’s keys, wallet, and cell phone by pointing an AK type rifle at the victim and allegedly telling him that his belongings “aren’t worth your life.” Young allegedly fled the scene in the victim’s pickup truck, but officers located Young at a nearby gas station using a tracking feature for the victim’s phone. Young allegedly sped away when officers tried to arrest him, leading officers on a pursuit through residential neighborhoods reaching speeds more than 100 miles per hour. Officers arrested Young when he stopped his truck in a mound of dirt and recovered a rifle matching the victim’s description of the firearm used in the crime. The victim identified Young as the same man who pointed the rifle at him at the supermarket.

The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on the carjacking offense is 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The statutory penalty for a conviction on the firearm offense is a mandatory minimum seven years of imprisonment, which must be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Albuquerque Police Department, and the Bernalillo County’s Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado.